The weather has been so mild so far this winter that the bulbs and perennials think it’s spring.

 

The Daffodils are growing, along with the Iris and a couple of other things.

 

We sold all our goats before Christmas. We had been talking out selling them. Then one day, someone stopped by and offered to buy them all. So we sold them.

We will decide in the spring what animals to get again. We’re thinking about getting sheep instead of goats. Time will tell. Hannah and I would also like to get fiber rabbits. I’m going to see if I can find any in our area.

We are down to two chickens, a rooster and a hen. So chickens are definitely on the list. I would like to get some laying hens as well as some meat chickens. We would also like to raise turkeys again. Some for us, and a few to sell.

Our dog, and Australian Shepard is lonely now that the goats are gone.

The seed catalogs have started coming in, so it’s time to plan the garden! We still have a little bit of work left to do to put the garden to bed for the winter. Then it’s on to starting seeds!

Have you planned your garden yet?

 

Not very much happening around here. I did find a few things to take pictures of.

The Rose bush still has one bud on it. You can see the leafless trees in the background. Hopefully, the rose opens before frost destroys it.

All that’s left on the Burning Bush is a few berries. the Rose is at the other end of this garden, The Bible Garden.

Here are a few of the goats. They saw me taking their picture, and came running. Just in case there was food in the camera. lol

Anything going on in your neck of the woods?  🙂

 

 

Here are a few links I found interesting and helpful:

How Much Food Can I Grow Around My House? – video
Homemade Herbal Cough Syrup
Survival Gardening in Depressed Economic Times

 

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It’s been cold this week! One morning it was 19! Since we’ve been covering and uncovering the remaining vegetables in our garden, I decided it was time to pull them. Here’s what was left- turnips, radishes and a few lettuce leaves.

I turned my 2 helpers loose, and they picked it all.

We got a few good sized radishes. The turnips didn’t get big. I probably didn’t plant them early enough in August. We don’t normally eat turnip greens, but I read recently about dehyrdating them and then crushing into small pieces. this article said you couldn’t taste them in soup, and people just thought the green specks were herbs. I’m wondering if I can trick my family into eating them?

I have one lone rosebud in the Bible garden. I hope it’s open in time for Thanksgiving. And that it doesn’t die before then.

I have some peppermint still growing in the herb garden.

I transplated some into a pot to keep in the house.

I’m a horrible transplanter/potter. You know how on tv they can pot a plant without even getting their hands dirty? Well, not me! I get dirt everywhere. lol I hope it survives. lol

 

Do you still having anything growing or blooming or, like me, have you given up for the year?

 

Here are a few links I found interesting and helpful:

Venison Home Processing

Heavy Mulch Gardening

Print Your Own Seed Packets

 

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Yes, I know it’s Monday. lol  But I didn’t want to miss sharing my Burning Bush with you.

This was at it’s peak, taken last Tuesday. Just absolutely gorgeous! Right now however, almost all the leaves are gone. We’ve had a lot of wind the last few days, and the bush succumbed to the wind.

I really love my Burning Bush!

 

 

Do you still having anything growing or blooming?

 

Here are a few links I found interesting and helpful:

Staple Winter Food video- who knew you could eat acorns?!
Refrigerator Without Power
Mullein
Plantain

 

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Gardening is almost done for the year here in Kentucky. I still have some lettuce, turnips and radishes left in the garden. We are covering and uncovering everyday to protect them from the frost.

 

I have flowers blooming, though! This cyclamen is in the Bible Garden. It was called a Hardy Cyclamen when I bought it. I guess it is hardy, as we haven’t been covering it at night. It has 3 little flowers on it.

I actually have a bud on one of the rose bushes, too. I’ve had roses before on Thanksgiving, so they are right on track.

The Burning Bush is gorgeous this year! It’s on the front corner of the house. To the right is the Bible Garden, the bush is actually part of the Bible Garden. The front garden is to the left of the bush.

Do you still having anything growing or blooming?

 

Here are a few links I found interesting and helpful:

Using Ashes in the Garden
Growing Carrots in a Soda Bottle – A great gardening project to do with the kids.
How to Make Elderberry Syrup
Urban Homesteading
How to Save Tomato Seeds – video

 

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Fall is well underway, and judging by the weather this week, winter isn’t very far away. We’ve had freezing temps, heavy frost and even sleet this week.

In spite of that weather, I still have some flowers blooming in a pot by the front porch.

You can see the Hibiscus branches in the front right of the picture, and by the chicken. Up from the chicken, is the row of apple trees that are losing their leaves. To the right of the apple trees is the row of raspberry plants. While I was out taking these pictures, I ate 4 raspberries. yum! There are only 3 left on the vines to ripen. I will miss picking and eating raspberries every time I walk around the yard. The kids will, too. Why bother carrying them in the house, when you can stand at the vine and eat them. lol

This Dogwood in the backyard is pretty.  You can see the creek behind and to the right of it. The goat pen is on the other side of the creek.

The turnips, lettuce and radishes are still growing in the garden. We cover them at night, allowing them to get some light and sun during the day. I need to put some boards around them and cover with white/clear plastic. I’m afraid we will forget to cover them one night and they will all die.

What I really need is a greenhouse. lol

 

Here are a few links I found interesting and helpful:
Canning Dry Goods
How to Make a Plantain Tincture
Make Your Own Seed Tape
Simple Steps to Grow a Hundred Pounds of Potatoes in a Barrel
How to Butcher Chickens
Keeping a Harvest Time Gleaning Contact List

 

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We’ve been having low temps in the 30’s a couple of nights.Everything is starting to die off, but we still have a few things growing.

In the Bible Garden, we have Roses blooming. There is even another bud coming. The red dot in the background is another Rose at the other end of the garden.

The huge Rose.

We’ve been having to cover what’s left in the garden. The Zucchini plant finally succumbed to the cold, though.

These are the Turnips, Radishes, and Lettuce. They are under the blue tarp above.

We’ve been able to keep the tomatoes going thus far, but the plants are getting spindly looking. This is what most of the plants looked like at lunch time today. After supper, my husband went out and picked all the tomatoes. They brought in 3 grocery store bags full of tomatoes. There were a lot of green ones. We’ll left some ripen in the house, and the others I’ll slice and freeze. Fried Green Tomatoes will be a nice treat in the middle of winter.  🙂

The Raspberries have stopped putting out berries. I only found these, and 2 pale pink ones today.

Hannah decided she wanted to try saving seeds from the Hibiscus plants today. The leaves are all gone, and the seed heads are dried out.

This is the Purple Hyacinth Bean. I only found a couple of flowers left, but the leaves are still green. This is over 10 feet tall. We have had fun growing this for the first time this year. I’m a little disappointed that the seed pods are only about 3 inches long when the package said 8-10 inches long. Maybe next year we’ll get some that size.

Tonight for supper we had salad from the garden. Lettuce, tomatoes and radishes. yum!

Here are some links I found interesting and helpful:

Making Elderberry Tinctures
How to Make Elderberry Syrup for Flu Prevention
Farming with Epsom Salts
Rose Hip Jelly

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